The Fashion of Rick Barry: A Tribute

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The Fashion of Rick Barry

Aug. 29, 1969: Confidence, and a adore of excellent fabrics, finished Rick Barry a conform titan. If aliens landed, they would demeanour during this headband and assume Rick Barry is a king. (AP / 1969)

May 7, 1965: Barry as a youth during University of Miami. Note a knee-high socks, wristbands and badass glare. At age 21, he’s already display flair. (Chronicle record / 1965)

Jan. 13, 1965: If Barry’s conform is a Rolling Stones, this is his “Out of Our Heads” phase. Understated though well-crafted, earnest mass to come. (AP / 1965)

Jan 26, 1967: Barry hands a round to Nate Thurmond during a Cow Palace. I’m assured if Barry played in 2012, he would reject prolonged shorts and wear these. (Chronicle file)

May 5, 1969: Posing with Mario Andretti, another mythological sportsman. This was Barry’s largest headband — I’m guessing there’s tighten to an hactare of component here. (UPI print / 1969)

Aug. 25, 1969: Rick Barry with Pam during a airport, during a finish of a headband era. In a story of mankind, we would disagree that usually dual people wore a headband with as many panache as No. 24: Audrey Hepburn and Lorne Greene. (Stan Creighton / The Chronicle)

Oct. 22, 1969: Barry looking awesome, on crutches after an injury. Pretty certain this shirt is a coverlet finished from a tablecloths of all his depressed opponents. (UPI print / 1969)

Sept. 20, 1970: With New York Nets manager Lou Carnesecca. Barry’s time in a ABA was tumultuous, though he looks happy in many of a photos. (UPI print / 1970)

Sept. 11, 1973. Back with a Warriors after his ABA career ended, display his proposal duck-feeding side during a Palace of Fine Arts. (William S. Young / The Chronicle)

Feb. 20, 1976: Wearing a wobble shawl on a day he suggested a hair reweaving. Among other pro athletes who cribbed a Barry look: Tim Lincecum. (Joe Rosenthal / The Chronicle)

Feb. 20, 1976: Warriors good Rick Barry checks out his new hair wobble before practice. “After carrying it done,” he told reporters progressing that day. “I consider a male would have to be crazy to hang with a decrease hair line.” (Joe Rosenthal / The Chronicle)

The final time we saw Rick Barry, during a retirement of Chris Mullin’s jersey this March, he was wearing a coupler that looked like a ex-Warrior had skinned a bear, and afterwards hand-stitched it together with a bellow of a birch tree. Sports speak hosts and Twitter pundits seemed confused, though we wasn’t. we had seen a Rick Barry record in a Chronicle print morgue.

Barry is famous for his mass as a basketball player. But I’ve identified a second area where he is universe class: Looking awesome. Barry possesses dual critical celebrity traits, that make him ideal for a multi-decade conform profile: An appreciation for new trends, and a healthy sip of “I don’t give a @#$%.”

For a purposes, a latter component is a substantially many important. Rick clearly feels that he looks amazing, and he positively doesn’t caring what we think. Someone who did caring competence intent to a photographer holding photos in a sauce room as he rearranges his code new hair weave. Not Rick. He didn’t even put on a shirt.

This week’s Let’s Go to a Morgue! is The Fashion of Rick Barry. If this proves popular, intensity follow-ups embody The Fashion of Willie Brown, The Fashion of Dianne Feinstein, The Fashion of Joe Montana/Dwight Clark and The Fashion of The Band Journey. As always, we take requests.

Two some-more photos and a few records below.

* we was primarily alerted to Rick Barry’s awesomeness by Will Ferrell, who modeled some of his “Semi-Pro” basketball personification character’s conform after a ABA-era Barry. Here’s my talk with a actor. Barry is mentioned during a end.

* Note that a photographer who shot a Barry hair wobble photos was Joe Rosenthal, who also photographed a iconic Raising a Flag during Iwo Jima print during World War II. It wasn’t an waylay — there were some-more than 20 photos in a series, so Barry contingency have famous Joe was there. Barry also sat down and answered steady hair wobble questions from reporters. we suspicion that pronounced some-more about his celebrity — realistic confidence, and a dash of self-centredness — than any of a wilder fashions.

* we think Barry will hatred this, or during slightest consternation if we’re derisive him. we unequivocally do meant it as a tribute. The late 1960s to early 1980s was a conform honeyed mark — someone with disposable income and a small courage could indication a far-reaching array of looks in a brief time. It seemed as if a trends altered during 5 times a normal speed, and Barry’s choices illustrate that. Most of a best galleries of this form (did we discuss we have Willie Brown?) cover a same era.

Two some-more photos below, including a closer demeanour during a checked pants …

(Chronicle record 1967)

(William S. Young/The Chronicle 1973)

PETER HARTLAUB is a cocktail enlightenment censor during a San Francisco Chronicle and founder/editor of The Big Event. He takes requests. Contact him during phartlaub@sfchronicle.com. Follow him on Twitter @peterhartlaub. Follow The Big Event on Facebook.